Solidarity
by Twerksie
Summary: In the midst of war, Dumbledore calls for "a show of solidarity among the authority figures of Hogwarts." James Potter tries to get Head Girl Lily Evans to cooperate.
1. Give Me a Show

**Solidarity**

By Kimmy

Summary: In the midst of war, Dumbledore calls for "a show of solidarity among the authority figures of Hogwarts." James Potter tries to get Head Girl Lily Evans to cooperate.

Author's note: Well, it's been a while. This is going to a multi-chapter story, though it won't extend past 4 chapters. It will most likely end in 3. We'll see. You know how it goes. Anyhow, here it is, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Earlier that day, Dumbledore had stood at the head of the table in the Prefects' meeting room, unusually grave in the midst of fresh Death Eater attacks, and called for "a show of solidarity among the authority figures of Hogwarts."

There had been too many fights breaking out because of the tension of the war, he said, even among individuals of the same house, and it was a duty of the prefects, Head students, teachers, and staff to set an example for the students.

At this point, he had met the eyes of James Potter and Lily Evans over his spectacles. Quietly, he said, "I don't believe I need to remind you, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, that this is an especially important task for the Head Students. There will always be younger ones watching you for cues concerning how to act, and you must learn to shoulder that burden with grace." His eyes focused pointedly on the three feet of tense space between them. Then he looked again at both of them. "Do you understand me?"

* * *

James Potter had understood very well. In fact, he had been trying to "shoulder that burden with grace" for three weeks prior to Dumbledore's meeting, but the new Head Girl had just brushed him off every time he approached her to call a truce.

She had done a splendid job of avoiding him, considering they were technically supposed to be working together, until Dumbledore had called them out on their inaction. After the meeting, perhaps shamed sufficiently to overcome whatever it was that was driving her to walk out of a room whenever he walked in, she took a seat in front of him at dinner.

"Hello," she said, staring down at the empty plate in front of her and folding her hands in her lap.

James stopped chewing on his chicken leg in surprise. "Hello," he said, after a pause. "Are you not hungry or something?"

She looked up, but only to the dishes on the table. "Not right now," she mumbled. Then she looked down at her hands.

James was not used to this Lily Evans. He was used to the vivacious Lily, the one who laughed readily and spoke loudly and was ready at a moment's notice to turn her wand on him if he stuck a toe out of line. But that Lily was not the Lily in front of him. This Lily wouldn't even turn her eyes on him, much less her wand, and though her eyes would in all probability contain some barely-concealed rage if she raised them up to his, he still had to admit he'd rather have that than this fraction of a Lily.

He put his chicken down and wiped his hands. Then he kicked her shin under the table and watched as she jumped in surprise and finally met his eyes in a stunning glare. "Potter - !" she started, but then seemed to think better of continuing. She settled for twisting her mouth into a scowl.

He smiled charmingly. "You really should eat, y'know."

The Head Girl seemed to struggle with her words, her eyebrows lifting and furrowing as unknown thoughts spun through her head. Then she gave up, heaving a large sigh. She wouldn't look at him anymore. "Yes, well," she said tiredly, "I'm not hungry." She stood and then threw an unexpectedly soft, "Good night," over her shoulder as she walked away.

James frowned after her. She had been all sorts of strange ever since they'd returned to school, but by far the most alarming part of her newfound strangeness was the fact that she couldn't seem to make up her mind as to whether she despised him or not.

They had owled each over the course of the summer; sending letters lighthearted and full of inquiries about each other's lives - one of Sirius's better plans, James had to admit, though one which hadn't planned for what would happen when the time for letter-writing was over.

The newly-appointed Head Boy had returned to school with a confident spring in his step, believing like he never had before that this year would be the year he would finally get Lily to look at him as something other than a spoiled prat. Her last letter had given him cause to be hopeful, as she wrote, "I find that I'm really looking forward to working with you, James."

But when he'd stumbled across her on the Hogwarts Express, she'd only blushed and ducked her head before hurrying past him. At the start-of-term feast, she'd sat as far away from him as possible, and when Dumbledore had introduced the pair of them as the year's Head Students, she'd avoided his eyes completely.

And it was just like that that the first delicate threads of a friendship had broken, because it seemed Lily felt the exact opposite of what she had told him in her letter. Disappointed, but still acknowledging that he had responsibilities as Head Boy to fulfill, he tried to speak with her on numerous occasions, if only to establish a working relationship.

All attempts had failed, and this dinner's conversation had been the first words she'd spoken to him in the month they'd been back at Hogwarts. And they weren't exactly earth-shattering words. Though James did have to wonder about the peculiar way she had bid him a good night.

He sighed heavily, not unlike Lily had done only a few minutes prior. Then he pushed his plate away and followed Lily's path back to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

It was the next morning at breakfast that he found himself puzzling over how exactly to give the school the "show of solidarity" that it needed when Lily didn't seem to want to cooperate. He was chewing contemplatively on his third piece of toast when Lily herself appeared in front of him again.

"Hello," she said once more, settling herself in before loading up her plate with eggs. That was all she seemed to want to say.

James exchanged a confused glance with Sirius to his right, whose eyebrows had risen into his hairline. After a while, James ventured a curious, "Hello," as well.

Lily waved her fork in acknowledgment. She kept eating and wouldn't look at him.

The Head Boy decided to try and prompt a little conversation. "So what did you think of Dumbledore's speech yesterday?" he asked, feigning casualness as he buttered another piece of toast.

Lily was doing the same. She was really speeding through breakfast, James noticed. "Well," she started, putting down her knife and taking a bite. "He's right, of course." And then she finally met his eyes and gave a small smile.

The first smile of the year, James noted with victory. He returned the smile, then asked, "Is that why you've been sitting with me, then?"

She stopped chewing. "Well," she said, blinking. "Yes, I guess so." Then a small shock seemed to jump through her. "I mean, yes, of course." She dabbed her napkin at her mouth, and then stood in a great hurry. She smiled again, though in a distracted manner, then offered a rushed, "Well, see you," before grabbing up her book bag and leaving in a decidedly faster way than she had entered.

The two boys watched after her. Sirius shook his head slowly. "You've finally driven her mad, Prongs," he said sympathetically.

James looked at her full plate of eggs and bacon, the half-eaten toast, and had to agree.

* * *

Potions was not James's best subject, but even his less-than-stellar knowledge of concoctions could tell him what it was that made his knees buckle upon breathing in the air of the dungeon.

"Amortentia," Professor Slughorn crowed when a number of students exclaimed at the scent. "Takes on the smell of the things that you love." He winked at Lily, who was just entering the room. James noted in admiration the pink that tinged her cheeks when the fragrance wafted around her. He wondered what it was that she smelled, and whether that was too personal to ask her the next time she came around for a show of solidarity.

She sat at the table in front of him and then swept a hand over her eyes as if she were tired. As James watched, Lily's lab partner leaned in to whisper loudly, "You okay?" Lily murmured something that James couldn't hear, but her friend's smirk as she leaned back told James that perhaps Lily was not so much tired as affected by the Amortentia.

As the last of the students filed in, Slughorn took his place, beaming over the cauldron of pearlescent liquid. "Amortentia," he said again, obviously enjoying immensely the effect it had on the classroom, "The most powerful love potion ever made." He took a great whiff and sighed. "Takes on the scent of the things we love most powerfully, and I can see just by the looks on your faces that you've already figured that out. Why, Miss Evans here looks very troubled!" He chuckled and peered into Lily's face, who, as best as James could tell, was trying and failing to look nonchalant. Slughorn winked. "Would you be so kind as to tell us what you smell, Miss Evans?"

Lily laughed nervously. "I – well, with all due respect, Professor, I'd rather not say…"

This seemed to amuse the Potions professor. "Ohoho, seems like a big secret she's keeping! But let's not embarrass her, eh?" The class laughed.

James was remarking to himself that Lily already seemed plenty embarrassed when Slughorn turned to him with a jovial bounce. "Mr. Potter, what about you?" and if James wasn't already stupefied by the potion vapors, he was most certainly so now.

"Er."

The class laughed again at James's less-than-intelligent answer, but Slughorn was not to be deterred. "Come now, my boy, you're not going to get off as easy as Miss Evans!"

James grappled with the answer, for he most certainly knew what he smelled, but wasn't sure he should say it out loud, what with Lily already having been put on the spot. He opened his mouth, not quite sure what was going to come out -

"No need to ask, Professor," Sirius interrupted, clapping James hard on the back in mock-affection, "We already know what he loves, eh?"

Sirius's charm had won Slughorn over a long time ago, and he laughed loudly. "Oh, of course, of course! Silly of me to ask! We all know Mr. Potter loves – "

"Treacle Tart!" Sirius said smoothly, effectively sending the class into stitches because they all knew James hated Treacle Tart.

As James chuckled good-naturedly, he could see that the only person not laughing was Lily Evans.

* * *

After class, Lily dashed out faster than she had done at breakfast. James and Sirius, the former obviously put-out by the events that had transpired, went to the hospital wing to visit Remus. He was sitting up playing Exploding Snap with Peter. "Hello, you two," he said, then upon seeing James's gloomy expression, added drily, "Yes, I'm glad to see you, too, Prongs."

Sirius heaved a dramatic sigh. "Sorry, Moony, Prongs has been a bit distracted by the lovely Evans recently. Wormtail, I say, that's a good look you've got going on there."

The cards had exploded right as Peter drew the cards closer to his face to hide an amused smirk. His fringe was now smoking, and he was decidedly less chipper. "What's going on now, then, with Evans?"

Remus handed Peter a glass of water to put himself out. "She still avoiding you, then?"

"No, she's – "

"Still ignoring you, then?"

"_No, _she's actually talking to me now. She's just been a little…"

"Loopy," Sirius supplied, helping himself to some of Remus's chocolate. "She's finally gone mad."

"What does he mean, Prongs?" Remus asked mildly.

James opened a box of Every Flavor Beans and choked on a combination of ear wax, dirt, and cabbage. "Ugh, dammit, I hate Bertie's," he grumbled, and finally, "She won't look at me when she talks to me."

"At least she's talking to you," Peter ventured. "Better than where you were two weeks ago."

The Head Boy shrugged. "Not really…I don't even know if she even wants to be talking to me, or if she's just trying to put up a "show of solidarity" like Dumbledore wants." As much as he didn't like her not speaking to him, he found that he disliked even more the idea of her doing it when she didn't want to. "I don't want her to feel forced to talk to me."

"That's very mature of you, Prongs," Remus said approvingly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "After you're done growing up," he interrupted, "You should just go and find out what's going on."

"And how do you propose I do that?" James asked.

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at James's book bag. "Don't you have something in there that could help out…?"

Remus groaned. "Merlin help me. Wormtail, wake me up when they're out of detention."

* * *

And that ends chapter 1! I've already gotten chapter 2 written, but I want to get a little further in chapter 3 before I post it up. Remember to review! I'm an English major, so I run on words. :D


	2. Maddening

**Solidarity**

By Kimmy

Author's note: Chapter 2! Enjoy, and let me know what you think! :D

* * *

Following Lily and her friends around under the invisibility cloak wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be. They did their homework in the common room in complete silence for two hours, and while he certainly appreciated being able to watch Lily without having to pretend he wasn't, he did get tired of hearing their quills scratching after the first half-hour. He did, however, overhear a conversation between a bunch of fourth-years who seemed to have developed violent crushes on Peter. The fact that this was the highlight of his afternoon was not a cheering realization.

After their homework session, however, Lily bid her friends goodbye, telling them she had promised Hagrid to visit him for dinner. James followed her out onto the grounds, and when Hagrid opened the door for her, he slipped in silently.

"Hello, Hagrid," she said once he had released her from a massive hug. "How've you been?"

He led her to one of the gigantic chairs at his table and passed her a huge mug of cider. "Ah, same old, same old," he waved away her inquiries. "Now how abou' yeh? Yer letter didn' sound very cheerful. What's bin botherin' yeh?"

Lily's hands couldn't wrap the whole way around Hagrid's mug. She looked into it and didn't say anything for a long while. James found himself holding his breath, waiting for something he was sure would reveal more about Lily than he ever dared dream…

"If it's alright with you," Lily finally said quietly, "I'd rather not talk about it."

James, watching her from the corner of Hagrid's hut, suppressed a frustrated groan. Did she ever reveal anything about herself to _anybody?_

Hagrid seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He surveyed her with a speculative eye. "It ain' healthy ter keep so many things ter yerself, Lily," he said. He slid a plate of meatloaf in front of her. "Now let's eat and then maybe yeh'll feel up to talkin' later, eh?"

Lily's eyes had widened slightly at the meatloaf. James knew why; Hagrid's meatloaf was just as hard as his rock cakes. "Uh, if it's alright with you, Hagrid, I brought a salad…everything else seems to disagree with my stomach nowadays…"

Hagrid looked surprised. "Oh, alrigh'. Blimey, yeh shoulda told me, I woulda fixed summat else up."

Lily was the picture of politeness. "Oh, no, that would have been too much trouble, Hagrid, thank you." She took out her salad from her bag and began eating.

The half-giant joined her at the table and started sawing into his meatloaf. "Alrigh', but if yeh want some of me cookin', just lemme know."

"I will," Lily said weakly.

They ate their meal and small-talked. Lily's family was fine, though her sister was still not talking to her. She had already finished her essay for Transfiguration, though she needed to go over it once more before turning it in. She's looking forward to the Hogsmeade weekend coming up. She bought another robe for school because her owl had pecked through the other one. It was, James thought, the dullest dinner he had ever not been invited to. He already knew most of the things she said, and what he didn't know was easy enough to guess. His mind started wandering back to the castle.

Sirius had had a chat with the house-elves earlier, and they promised they would serve roast beef at dinner…Remus must be out of the hospital wing by now, enjoying his first meal that didn't consist of hospital sandwiches…Potato salad was his favorite…though he did enjoy a nice, tender steak once in a while…

James's stomach rumbled loudly in a lull of conversation, and the two people at the table stilled. "What was that, Hagrid?" Lily's eyes raked over the corner where James was hiding. The boy pressed a hand into his stomach nervously.

Hagrid perked up. "Oh, righ', I forget ter tell yeh!" He got up from the table and moved toward James's corner. James, to his credit, was able to calm his breathing so that when Hagrid bent down, barely two inches to his right, Hagrid didn't notice a thing. The half-giant picked something up from under some rags. "Cute little thing, isn' he?" He cradled a large black puppy, snuffling against his chest as it slept.

"Oh, Hagrid!" Lily squeaked, and if James hadn't been so nervous, he would have taken a moment to commit the sound to memory. "Hagrid, how adorable!" She had hopped off her chair to see the animal closer. Hagrid bent down to hand the puppy to Lily. James's heart pumped faster. If he were caught now…

"Yeah, I fergot to ter feed 'im today, musta bin his poor stomach cryin'."

"Oh, he's darling, Hagrid!" Lily said, stroking the puppy's fur. Even as a puppy, the animal was almost too large for her arms. Its head rested on her shoulder.

"Yep, I 'spect 'im ter grow abou' this long," Hagrid said, and he stretched out his arms. His fingers almost brushed James's nose. James stopped breathing. When Hagrid finally withdrew his hands, James decided that he had better try and move or risk being caught. He inched slowly along the wall, aware that Lily was only three feet away.

The Head Girl was distracted by the animal. "What's his name, Hagrid?" James sidled along to the open window. A breeze picked up and wafted into the room. Lily's head stilled like a lioness who'd caught sight of movement on the horizon. "James Potter," she said suddenly. James froze, his heart hammering in his ribcage.

Hagrid looked confused. "Actually, I named 'im Fang, but I'm sure James'd be flattered…"

James wondered whether it would be plausible to jump out of the window and run before she caught him.

Lily shook her head, her eyes sliding toward the window. "No, here. James Potter's here. I can smell his damned cologne." James cursed himself silently. Of all the days to smell nice. Lily's eyes, so green, so venomous, narrowed in suspicion, ran along the wall and then met his for one brief, horrible second, and James thought he might die of fear. Then her eyes moved along the rest of the wall. But James was caught. Unless he ran for it…

"Blimey, yeh sure yeh're okay, Lily? Maybe yeh oughta see Madame Pomfrey…"

Lily handed Fang off to Hagrid, then turned toward the wall. "James Potter, you listen to me." Her voice was snakeskin soft. "Take off that bloody invisibility cloak _right now, _or Merlin help me, the next time I see you, I will _murder _you."

James had closed his eyes in outright fear. He wanted to run, but his legs were paralyzed. He knew he was caught. He gripped his wand to be ready to defend himself, and then with a horrible wrench, tugged the cloak away. He opened his eyes. Hagrid looked astonished. "Blimey, James," he said, "I woulda let you in…"

James found his throat had closed. He just smiled weakly at the groundskeeper.

Lily, meanwhile, looked positively murderous, but she maintained a deadly silence. She continued to glare venomously at him until finally she said to Hagrid, in a voice of forced calm, "Thank you for dinner, Hagrid, but I should get back to the castle now." Then she turned on her heel and left, slamming the door.

James flinched, but was otherwise happy to have been left with all of his limbs intact. He felt his knees go out from under him, and he slid down the wall, into a relieved heap. Fang was out of Hagrid's arms at once and growling squeakily.

Hagrid chuckled. "I don't reckon Fang likes yeh much fer that, James."

James only groaned. "Why do I ever listen to Sirius?" he said to no one in particular. He swatted at Fang, who immediately jumped back and hid behind Hagrid's legs.

Hagrid picked the puppy up. "Yeh should go after her, James," he said seriously. "She's been very upset lately, and I don' think yeh helped much…"

"She'll kill me."

"No, she won'! She coulda killed yeh here, but she didn', did she? Nah, most prob'ly she'll send a few hexes or jinxes yer way, but that's it, I reckon."

The thought wasn't totally comforting. Fang ventured a high-pitched bark.

James sighed and readied his wand again.

* * *

When James caught up to Lily, she was already halfway to the castle. She walked fast when she was feeling like killing someone, James noted. This thought did not spur him on, but he eventually made it so that she could hear his huffs and puffs. "Evans! Merlin, Evans – wait up!"

This particular sentence apparently angered her enough to say, "Oh, _now _you want me to see you? Bugger off, Potter!"

"Just hear me out, Lily, please?"

He had stopped, a hand on the Beech tree next to the lake, as he tried to regain his breath. He was wondering whether he could even continue on after her when there was a marked absence of her footfalls. Then a sullen, "…Go ahead."

He looked up in amazement. She had stopped. She had stopped! There she was – completely stopped! Her arms were crossed, and her mouth was twisted in a very obvious scowl, but she had stopped! He straightened and, breathing fast out of exertion (and partly of fear), came closer to offer her the container of salad she had left at Hagrid's. She made a motion as if to take it, then stopped.

"Take it," she said roughly. "You didn't eat."

"Are – are you serious?"

She just pushed the container back at him. "Yes. Now is that it, or can I go be angry somewhere else now?"

She turned away to leave. "Whoa, wait!" James couldn't understand how he was still uninjured, but he wasn't about to question his luck. "Wait a minute, Evans, let's just calm down for a second here."

The Head Girl sighed and turned toward him tiredly. "What?"

"You're angry, but…you're not acting angry…" James shook her salad to emphasize his point. "You just caught me spying on you, and you say you're angry, but then you give me your food."

Lily raised her eyebrows, unimpressed.

He decided to push his luck, just a little bit. "Can I ask why?"

Her face took on the expression she usually gets when eating something sour. "You're hungry. I'm not. I have food. You don't. So I gave my food to you."

"I was _spying _on you, Evans."

"Must you question everything, Potter? Can't you just be grateful I haven't killed off your future descendants?"

Her tone was simply tired now, not angry, but still James took a surreptitious step backward. "Well, yeah, I'm bloody grateful for that…" He looked at the container of salad. "But you don't usually care if I starve."

Her eyebrows came together. "Of course I care if you starve, you blundering idiot."

"Well, forgive me if I can't tell by your tone," James responded sarcastically. He uncovered the container and took a peek in the waning daylight. His stomach gave another pitiful growl.

Lily shook her head. "Are you going to eat it or not?" And with that, she stepped past him toward the Beech tree, where she sat and made herself comfortable.

The Head Boy followed apprehensively, uncertain if she meant him to. When she didn't say anything about his approaching footsteps, he relaxed and chose a spot next to her to eat. The salad was good, and it quelled his stomach rumblings, but what he was overly aware of was rather the fact that the girl next to him was watching him eat.

After he had dropped the fork back into the container, he conjured a napkin to self-consciously dab at his mouth. Then he cleared his throat. He found he didn't know what to say, so he just put the container on the ground and leaned back on the tree.

Lily sighed, not for the first time. "What were you doing in there, Potter?"

James contemplated lying. He could just say that he had already been there when she walked in, that it was totally a coincidence that she had come to visit Hagrid…but the remains of her salad lay two inches from his hand, and she had stopped to listen to the truth, didn't she? He didn't particularly want to lie to her.

But it wouldn't make the truth any easier to admit. He winced before saying, "Look, I'm really sorry, Evans. I wanted to figure out why you've been acting so peculiar around me…so I followed you down here." He cleared his throat, and hastened to continue, "Especially because Dumbledore wants a show of solidarity, and we've been doing a crap job at that so far."

His companion didn't react. She was turned away, watching the lake where the giant squid was stretching its tentacles lazily.

"Are – are you still angry?" he ventured cautiously, craning his neck around to see her expression.

The girl released a heavy breath before turning to meet his eyes. There was a hard glint to her eyes, but then she said, "No, Potter, I'm not angry."

She did sound irritated, however, so James waited a few moments before he asked, "Well, why not?"

Lily looked up as if praying for patience. "Honestly, Potter, do you _want_ me to be angry?" The pale skin of her neck against the red of her hair – almost black in the darkness – was tantalizing. James couldn't help the sigh that fled his lips.

Shrugging, and suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed, he admitted, "Well, if it meant I understood you, then yeah, maybe I'd like that."

The next thing Lily said caught him by surprise. It came after a lengthy pause in which he could almost hear her thoughts reworking themselves. "…Yeah, I'm sorry about that." She blew a stray strand of her hair out of her face. "I – I know I've been maddening."

"I'll say."

She silenced him with a good-natured glare and then continued, more determined, "I've been absolutely maddening, and yet you've been wonderful about it all regardless, so when you appeared at Hagrid's, I figured I should at least try to return the favor."

This gave James a reason to pause. "I have been pretty wonderful, haven't I?" he said thoughtfully, and he smiled when he heard Lily's laughter. The first laughter of the year, he noted. He raised his eyebrows at her. "In fact, I think my being wonderful counts for a little more…"

"Oh, you're demanding payment now, Potter?" she asked fiercely, though she was fighting a smile.

He shrugged nonchalantly, secretly admiring the way her lips fought her amusement and the way her dimple came out of hiding. The turn the conversation had taken had been unexpected, but far from unwelcome. "Well, the way I see it, I've been _excessively_ wonderful to you, so now you have to pay me back by being just as wonderful." He didn't know where his bravado was coming from, considering he'd never exactly been the smoothest bloke in her proximity. Usually he would try to charm her by throwing her a smirk, but then she'd glare at him, or worse, lick her lips in preparation for a long tirade about respect, and he'd be absolutely lost in the labyrinth, trying to get back to _her, _because that's all he wanted, really. She never quite understood that.

It startled him to suddenly realize that he was there, in the dark alone with her, under a tree, sitting so close he could reach out and twirl a piece of her hair around his finger with very little physical effort. In all of his wild imaginings concerning her, he had to admit he'd never allowed himself to think about being alone with Lily because, he suspected, it might very well be the greatest fantasy he'd ever live to imagine. If it never presented itself to him in reality, he had thought he might die of disappointment.

…Well, okay.

He might have thought about it once or twice.

A day.

But he never got his hopes up.

None of that mattered, anyhow, because now she was there and they were alone and she wasn't angry and it seemed to be going according to his fantasy so far. James thought that perhaps it was a good thing he listened to Sirius, even though by the end of this night, he might still end up dead.

Of happiness, however; not of disappointment.

And hopefully not of blood loss from a loss of limbs.

Lily was biting her bottom lip. James was rather disappointed when she stopped to finally say, "Fine. What do you want?"

James took a second to remember what they were talking about. He found himself biting his own lip. "We've established you've been maddening, yes?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean by that?"

Lily frowned. She didn't seem to like where this was going all of a sudden. She found the grass underneath them suddenly very engrossing. "Well…you know…avoiding you and not talking to you…"

"Especially after your letters," he pointed out.

Her eyes flickered up, but returned just as suddenly back to the ground. "Mhm."

He leaned toward her, just the tiniest bit. He noted with interest that while she drew in a quick breath, she didn't draw back. It was a day of victories, it seemed. And his fantasy was progressing very nicely. "Why?" His voice was lower than he intended, but in response she only blinked slowly. Her lashes were so long they tangled together.

It was a long pause. Then, "It was just different," she mumbled, clearly uncomfortable. "We'd been horrid to each other for six years, and then suddenly we were supposed to be friends, and…I dunno, I didn't know how to handle it."

"It was different," James agreed. He was definitely pushing the boundaries of personal space as he edged closer to her. He didn't even bother to hide it, and he felt it was a positive sign when she didn't recoil. She just captured his eyes for a few seconds, seeming to gauge his sincerity. Merlin, that look might well be the death of him one day. She was looking up at him through her eyelashes, a clash of sober green and ribbon red, with a contemplative twist to her soft lips, and if he were honest (and wanted to completely mess things up in terms of his chance with her), he could follow the slender dip of her collarbone as it nestled underneath the cotton of her blouse.

"Different," she repeated quietly, and then she cast her eyes down again.

He didn't like seeing her so uncomfortable. Lily was confident and bright and always knew what to do. She didn't duck her head and doubt herself. She was vulnerable for once, which both alarmed and touched him; alarmed because it just never happened…

And touched because it just did, and it was because of him. If that wasn't a sign that this fantasy was going well, he didn't know what was.

He touched a tentative hand to her knee. She started chewing on her lip again. "It was different. But hey," he said, tapping her knee with a finger, prompting her to look at him. When she raised her eyes to his, he continued, "It's not so bad, is it?"

It was a moment for one of his mum's romance novels, James would think later, what with the way she looked up at him, unguarded for once, and silent and serious; what with the way he could feel his heart beating against his rib cage, keeping time to a melody he had never been able to name or control. Even under the dim light of the moon, he could detect a flush of pink in her cheeks, and he wondered, lifting his hand, if he would be able to feel her blood rushing underneath his palm…

But before he could find out, Lily let out a laugh and drew back from him. "I guess it's not so bad," she said, smiling widely. She seemed oblivious to what he was about to do.

James dropped his hand. He forced a smile on his face. "So, can we agree no more maddening stunts, Miss Evans?" Even to his ears, his voice sounded a touch rough.

It took a while for her to nod, but she did eventually, sighing in concession. "Yes, I think we can agree, Mr. Potter." She smiled, then turned away to watch the squid descend beneath the water for the night.

The Head Boy took the opportunity to close his eyes and breathe deeply. Maddening.

* * *

Look out for Chapter 3 in a few days! It's not done yet, but I'm working hard. In the meantime, a few words telling me what you thought about this chapter would be wonderful motivation.


	3. Jealousy

**Solidarity  
**By Kimmy

Author's Note: I've been receiving some very encouraging reviews from you guys, and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it. I'm glad you guys have enjoyed reading Solidarity as much as I've enjoyed writing Solidarity. This is not the last chapter; subplots have been revealing themselves as I've been writing, so this is becoming a lot longer than I normally planned… Anyhow, thanks for all your support, and here's chapter 3!

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, he worried for a few minutes that she might have changed her mind, but his worries were silenced when she yet again took the seat opposite him with an almost demure, "Good morning, James."

He couldn't help the silly grin that spread across his face. "Morning, Lily," he said. He was rewarded with an equally bright smile.

Lily slid her gaze to one Sirius Black on James's right. "Good morning, Sirius," she said pleasantly.

Sirius exchanged a curious glance with his best friend before managing a polite, "Good morning." A pause, then, "Lily." He said her name as if it were a foreign word he had never encountered before. "How have you been lately?"

* * *

Though Lily had promised to stop being so maddening concerning the start of their friendship, James quickly found that _being_ her friend was equally as maddening.

Most days it was wonderful. They ate breakfast together, and she got to know his friends. Sirius even had the audacity one day to slip his arm over her shoulders, laughing as James turned the color of his raspberry jam and Lily rolled her eyes. They did homework together in the afternoons and sat together in classes and throughout this all, she kept smiling at him, which both elated and frightened him, because more often than not, his lungs would cease their function and breathing was compromised for a few seconds.

Days like those were wonderful, but some days it was too wonderful. He would term it torture, he supposed, except that torture implied that he didn't on some level enjoy it – and while James certainly thought there were better ways to spend his time with Lily than pining after her, it was still Time with Lily, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

He found it especially difficult on these days to keep his feelings in control. It could be the simplest thing to set him off, like a comment or a joke relayed in a flirty tone. But it was more often in the most silent of moments that an ordinary day turned into a torturous one. He would be doing his homework only to look up and catch her watching him, inches closer than she was the last time he looked up. They would be sitting in History of Magic and suddenly she'd yawn and make herself comfortable on his shoulder, effectively stopping his note-taking and inspiring rather inappropriate (and embarrassingly girly) fantasies.

It was maddening. Absolutely maddening.

Especially because there was still the rare day on which her smile would fall too quickly at breakfast, and James knew he would be missing her presence for the rest of the day.

She seemed to have this internal gauge which measured their closeness, and whenever she felt they were getting too close she would revert back to her maddening habits.

It was on one of those days, about a month after their conversation under the Beech tree, that James dragged himself forlornly into the hospital wing. Sirius and Peter were holding a fierce staring contest from opposite sides of Remus's bed. Remus was steadfastly ignoring them, a book clutched in hands. James squeezed himself between Sirius and the bed, eliciting an indignant, "Hey!" from his best friend, and climbed in next to Remus, tucking his feet under Remus's blanket, leaning on Remus's pillow, and then crossing his arms with a "hmph." Had Madame Pomfrey not been attending to another patient, she would have thrown him out on his arse.

Remus, who suddenly found himself in danger of falling off of the bed in a manner unbefitting of a gentleman, adjusted himself to avoid it. He sighed long-sufferingly as he put his book down on the nightstand. "Is there something wrong, Prongs?" he asked.

The Head Boy had a sour look on his face. "Evans." Lily reverted back to being called Evans among the Marauders when she was being maddening.

"Speaking of, where is Lily?" Except Sirius seemed to have taken to her and never called her Evans at all anymore. He glanced at the door as if expecting her to walk in.

James glared at him. "I dunno, Padfoot, shouldn't you know? Since you're such good friends and all?"

Sirius appeared to think. "I think she said something about going to visit Hagrid – relax," he added upon seeing the stricken look on James's face. "I haven't seen her since you were with her yesterday."

Groaning, James let his head fall back onto the wall. "She is _so maddening!_"

Remus, who had already told James a few weeks prior that things would work out if James just had a little patience with her, had picked up his book again. "There, there," he said absentmindedly.

Peter was picking at his fingernails. "Just ask her out already, Prongs," he suggested. "Go for all or nothing."

Sirius had a strange expression on his face. If James hadn't known him any better, he would have said Sirius looked worried. "But," Sirius started, unusually unenthusiastic about a plan that involved the potential embarrassment of his best friend, "What if she gets angry with us?"

"You mean, what if she gets angry with _Prongs_?" Remus corrected, turning a page. His eyes never left the book, but there was a smirk on his face that seemed to say he was more engrossed in his friends' conversation than in the author's plot.

James had had enough. He grappled with the sheets until he extricated himself and then stood. "That's it. I'm asking her out. And if she never speaks to me again, at least she won't be speaking to Padfoot either." He sent a glare at Sirius for good measure. Sirius scowled right back at him.

* * *

The Marauder's Map had taken the better part of two years to complete, and had many times been the only thing that kept the boys out of a year's worth of detentions. It had also been very useful at finding people, and would have been very useful in this particular instance especially, because when Lily didn't want to be found, she would go to great lengths to ensure it. So it was that James found himself in an even worse mood, because the caretaker Mr. Filch had confiscated the Map off of Peter two weeks ago. Peter had left it lying around in the Great Hall, forgotten as the Marauder went off in search of a meal.

James ground his teeth together. He had to find Lily another way, it seemed: with some good, old-fashioned detective work.

Well, okay, maybe with a little magical help. James raised his wand and said, "_Accio Lily's quill!" _He waited for a few moments, then suddenly hurled himself out of the way as Lily's eagle-feather quill came speeding towards an eyeball. It stopped where he had been only a second prior, then clattered to the floor. He grabbed the quill before starting off in the direction it had come from.

When he found her in the Owlery, his arms were laden with a rather alarming percentage of her day-to-day possessions. She was standing in the center of the room, looking distinctly harassed with her arms crossed in front of her, and obviously waiting for James to walk into his doom. She glared at him fiercely when he stepped into the room, taking a deep breath before she began her tirade, which caused more than one owl to hoot indignantly at the noise. "Give me back my quill, Potter." Danger was obvious in every syllable. "Give me back my ring, give me back my books, my headband, my ink, my parchment, and _give me back_ _my necklace!" _she continued loudly, summoning back her items as she railed at him. "You nearly _decapitated _me, what in the blazes were you _thinking?"_

James had known she would be irritated, but he really hadn't expected such ferocity. He quailed and tried to blend in with the owls. "I was…" he tried, but at her narrowed eyes, he trailed off. An owl deposited a gift on his shoulder.

"Why not follow me from breakfast, then, or use that fancy blinking map of yours?"

"H-how'd you know about the map?"

She raised an eyebrow as if the answer was obvious.

Oh, right. Sirius. James's bad mood returned with a vengeance. He didn't feel like asking her out anymore. "Best friends now, then, are you?" he snapped. He heard a supportive hoot from an owl somewhere behind him. He felt a little better knowing he had a witness to his courage before Lily killed him.

A scoff. "Grow up, James," she bit back. "You steal my things and nearly kill me in the process, and now you accuse me of stealing your best friend?" She started cramming her stuff back roughly in her bag. "I have friends of my own; I don't need to steal yours!"

The absurdity of her statement, and the consequent desire to correct her, had one thought emerging out of the gloom in his head, stirring up the dust as it stomped its way forward. It came out before he could stop it. "I just don't want him to steal _you!"_ he said, frustrated, wanting her to know but unaware of shock on her face, the way her hands stilled suddenly, called him back to himself. He felt the blood drain from his face. It left his heart aching like an old wound on a rainy day.

His owl friend suddenly had nothing to hoot about.

After gaping for a minute, Lily managed to stammer, "H-he wouldn't do that, though." Her face was as pink as he'd ever seen it, and she seemed to have forgotten her anger in her shock. He would have called her cute if the moment weren't so tenuous. Also, if he didn't want to stun himself repeatedly in the arse.

He ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly in the silence, the ruffle of owls' feathers as they dozed and shifted was loud in his ears. "I know he wouldn't," he mumbled, embarrassed, wanting desperately to be involved in another conversation, any conversation other than whether or not his best friend and the love of his life would end up in love with each other. "I just…it slipped out, I'm sorry."

Now he definitely didn't want to ask her out. He blew out a strong breath in an attempt to clear his muddled thoughts. What a day. He went from contentment to disappointment to annoyance to anger, and then to determination to fear to anger again and then finally, to undiluted embarrassment. All for Lily. If there were an award for being maddening, she would have swept the entire competition.

She started taking a few steps forward; tentative, wary, the bright of her eyes marred by the slight furrow between them. She stopped in front of him. His eyes were immediately caught by the red scratches that ran along the skin of her neck. He thought of the necklace he'd summoned and gritted his teeth in anger with himself, in pity for her.

"Merlin, Lil," he breathed, barely suppressing an oath, "I'm so sorry." His fears about Sirius and Lily, unfounded and ridiculous, had commandeered his actions; seeing the marks on her skin, however, immediately sobered him. At what point in the month past did he lose his head? Unable to help himself, he ran a gentle finger over the marks, trying to gauge how seriously he had hurt her. The skin was slightly inflamed. "Does it still hurt?"

James felt and saw her swallow hard before answering. "It's just…warm," she managed, looking away, down at the ground. She had tilted her head slightly to expose the marks for him. Her face was still flushed, though out of anger or embarrassment or something else entirely, he couldn't tell.

He withdrew his hand, unable to resist skimming her jaw. He saw her eyelashes beat softly against her cheek, like wings which James imagined created a current of air he could float away on.

As he dropped his hand, she took a deep breath, slightly shaky.

Then the moment was over. Her eyes snapped open. No more floating. She didn't look at him. Instead, she turned around and went to gather up her things. As she left, she told him softly, "I'll go see what Madame Pomfrey can do," and started down the steps, leaving a very tired James Potter in her wake.

His new owl friend had cast large, baleful eyes on him.

"Yeah, yeah," James mumbled, abashed, as he kicked at the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm an idiot, I know."

* * *

When Lily sat down in her usual seat in front of him for breakfast, he was relieved to note that 1) the marks on her neck were completely gone and 2) that she seemed to have forgiven James for his behavior the previous day, beginning breakfast with a casual, "Morning," to the Marauders. If she found it awkward to be sitting with him and Sirius considering what had transpired, she didn't show it.

As she and Sirius started a conversation about muggle motorbikes, James caught her eye. She held his gaze for a moment, steady and calm, seeming to challenge him – but upon seeing that he wasn't planning on shoving a wall between her and Sirius, she offered a small smile. He returned it.

Meanwhile, Sirius was watching their silent exchange with a raised eyebrow. James hadn't told him about the strained conversation that he had with Lily about him, and so Sirius had probably drawn the wrong conclusions about their staring contest. "So," he said, the faintest hint of suggestion sneaking into his voice, "Did James ask you, then?"

"What?" Lily was adorable when she was clueless.

A reproachful look from Sirius, however, had James just as confused. "What did I ask her?" he asked, more than slightly worried as he cast his memory back over his shoulder, hoping his line snagged on something familiar…

Then, a tug. _Oh, Merlin._

He opened his mouth, but Sirius had already begun to explain. "James was supposed to ask you ou - !"

The Head Boy shoved Sirius hard in the shoulder, knocking him into the table and spilling a few glasses of orange juice. He ignored the sudden wave of indignant splutters; he was too busy cleaning up Sirius's wordy mess to worry about any others. "I was," he began loudly, "supposed to ask you _how…_how you wanted to uh, you know…solidify our show of solidarity." He offered her a hopeful smile, confident in his alliteration, if anything at all.

But Lily didn't seem swayed by his impromptu poetic skill. She was casting suspicious glances at the boy next to James, who was now glowering at his biscuits in sullen disappointment that his best friend was such a spoilsport. She tilted her head, green eyes bouncing from Sirius to his biscuits and back again, and replied dubiously, "I thought we were doing a pretty good job of that."

Eager to push the topic aside, James nodded emphatically. "Yes, yes, I agree completely; now how about that essay for Slughorn, eh?"

But Sirius had looked up from his biscuits and was grinning in a distinctly evil manner at James. "You know, Prongs, there is a Hogsmeade weekend coming up…it might be a good idea to bring your show of solidarity to the villagers there…" His gaze shifted to Lily. "You know," he said again, "To show everyone that your relationship extends past school-related rubbish." He was showing off his best Puppy Dog Eyes. The sight made James scowl; Sirius was anything but a puppy dog, and if he scared Lily off with his Hogsmeade talk, there would be hell to pay.

He turned to Lily, expecting to find an expression of hesitation on her face, but she was instead tapping a finger against her lips thoughtfully. It was a sight to see. The Head Boy felt a warmth creeping up and down his spine at the thought of a Hogsmeade visit with Lily. Walking with Lily. Having lunch with Lily. Shopping with Lily. Being with Lily. He watched her contemplate Sirius's suggestion with a growing sense of anticipation.

Finally, she shrugged good-naturedly, and smiled at both boys. "I don't see any harm in it," she said, then picked up her fork again.

It was such a simple phrase, but it sent James over the moon. And the huge grin on Sirius's face made James forget why he was ever angry with his best friend in the first place.

But then Sirius's smile turned mischievous. He arched a haughty eyebrow at James when he knew Lily wasn't looking. It was not an expression that had produced good consequences in the past, and James found himself doing what he never thought he would: dreading a day with Lily.

* * *

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